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kidrock001

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Water, water and more water, till you have to run to the loo. Then resume drinking water. For every ounce of caffeinated beverages or alcohol, add an once of water. Also, never nap too shortly before a gig, especially if you're prone to acid reflux, unless you can sleep sitting up. (Taking an acid blocker like Zantac--or a proton pump inhibitor like Prilosec or Protonix, the latter of which is Rx only, if the acid blocker's not strong enough--can keep your vocal folds from getting pickled in stomach acid).

 

Don't sing on a full stomach, but don't let yourself get so hungry before a gig that you get hypoglycemic and woozy. As to dairy, only your body can tell you--I can't drink a latte or eat cheese within four hours before singing, but my voice teacher can suck on a milkshake while he teaches and still sound clear as a bell.

 

My ENT says if you have seasonal allergies and are a singer, don't take decongestants, and steer clear of antihistamines if you can because they dry you out. Take Mucinex (or generic guafenisin), use a plain saline nasal spray like Ocean or Ayr, flush your sinuses with buffered isotonic saline and a Neil-Med or neti pot, and either use a face steamer (NO meds added to the water), go to the "shvitz" at the gym, or sit in a locked bathroom with a hot shower running and a camomile teabag or squirt of eucalyptus oil at the bottom of the tub. Then there's good ol' chicken soup (from a real chicken, not a packet or bouillon cube).

 

A friend of mine swears by this remedy for a sore throat: put several slices of ginger, garlic, lemon and onion in a one-quart saucepan, cover with water, add one dried Thai chile or 1/4 tsp. cayenne powder, and slowly bring to a boil; steep 10 min. Add honey to taste and sip slowly.

 

And if you have actual laryngitis and don't have to sing for a while, SHUT UP! Don't whisper--it actually irritates the vocal folds worse than speaking softly. If you have to sing, see your ENT, who will decide if it's safe and if so, will probably give you a prednisone shot if the gig is imminent or a tapered "dosepak" if it's a few days away. But again, don't talk in the meantime--use hand gestures, silently mouth words, or write stuff out (one of those kids' Magic Slates is great for that--my cantor used it while recovering from throat surgery for a blood blister on her cord). Or the handwritten "notes" function on your PDA, iPod or smartphone.

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I've hung around catching free vocal lessons with lead singers, theatre performers and operatic artists, and the best thing you can do, if you want to sing every day, or every night, is talk softly during the day and try not to shout. You're losing your voice every day of the year, and you have to try and preserve it. That, and don't drink cold stuff before or while you're singing. My big personal thing, whether I'm singing or just playing guitar, is to get into it wherever I'm at beforehand, my own personal sound-check, so I'm used to the room. By the time everyone's there, that's enough to overcome, and it's nice to know you're starting out where you want to be.

 

as always, John Watt

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